Every parent wants what's best for his or her children. They are ready to invest themselves and their money to ensure that their children receive the best education. But what is "best"?

As a ninth-grader at Oakland Technical High School (and graduate of Oakland middle and elementary schools), I experience the adventure that is public school every day. I have had both extremely good and extremely bad teachers.

My good teachers provided a well-managed classroom, where rigorous academic learning flourishes. My not-so-good teachers introduced me to the stereotypical chaotic classroom, where kids throw erasers and toss blown-up condoms. All of these experiences have been a part of my education.

The diverse and sometimes chaotic experience that is public education is important for learning empathy for others, perspectives different from my own, and developing skills for navigating our diverse and sometimes chaotic world.

By diversity in school, I mean the integration of different races, cultures and social classes into an academic environment. A public school may have less rigorous course work and bigger classes, but it provides an inclusive and diverse environment for students. Diversity in a classroom means a student is learning not only about math and science, but also about the lives of others. One mother at Emerson Elementary School recounted how her daughter had been going to an all-white, Jewish preschool, where she saw an extremely limited variety of people. After attending Emerson for less than a year, her daughter "started including different skin colors in her drawings." In our increasingly segregated communities, school is an important place to experience those different from ourselves. Lack of exposure to the outside world, and its diversity, can lead to narrow-minded views, and pictures of an all-white world.

Private schools often offer amazing academics with top-notch instruction, but little diversity. Parents send their children to private schools because they think the schools will be more beneficial to their children, with academic learning as their priority. Many of my classmates attended private schools for middle and elementary school. Two classmates who attended private Catholic schools described them as having "more discipline" but no diversity ("not even a little bit;" "maybe two African American kids and five Asian kids"). When asked about the transition from private school to Oakland Tech, one student bluntly described it as "culture shock."

Sending your child to your neighborhood public school not only benefits them but helps the school to have one more supportive mom or dad. When a parent sends his or her child to a neighborhood school, "everyone wins," noted Jody London, a member of the Oakland Unified School District school board.

Oakland public schools are improving significantly, but when many parents look at schools for their child, all they see is the low academic test scores. It's time to look past that and see the rainbow of children playing on the blacktop as a learning opportunity for your child. Sending your child to public school can teach your child to walk in someone else's shoes and embrace the differences.

Sophie Schafer is a freshman at Oakland Technical High School. She used a social studies assignment to "take action in her community" to do something about education - "something I am passionate about and experience daily." She volunteers to work on school fundraisers.